Amy Schumer is one of the funniest women in the world. Her brand of feminist comedy is bold, brave, and hilarious. I was so excited to finally get my hands on her book, The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo. In it is a collection of humorous essays, and a few of her journal entries from different stages of her life. She talks about her family, her relationships, her career, her crazy upbringing, and her love of New York City. I laughed out loud a few times – and found it very therapeutic. I actually had the book on election day and had a hard time sleeping that night. I got up, grabbed the book and finished it before I was able to go back to sleep. It was welcome comic relief, something we could all use right now.
Schumer is known for her comedy, but is also an outspoken feminist. She talks about being a woman in comedy, which seems like well-covered territory. She adds to the argument though, not just repeats what others have said. Her experience is unique, and she tells all about her rise in comedy. One of the most hilarious skits from her show Inside Amy Shumer is one in which she addresses growing older in Hollywood. That’s something she talks about in the book too – and how she rejects the whole idea. She’s never really been in “Hollywood”, she’s a lifelong New Yorker. For this, and many other reasons, she’s doing her own thing.
This is one of my favorite parts, her belief that just because she’s not a size 2 and 20 years old, doesn’t mean that she can’t be funny, or entertain people:
“I’m sure no one is too shocked to hear that it’s an industry of people who judge most women almost solely on their appearance, and where every day women feel themselves barreling toward death and decay while smaller, hotter actresses like Selena keep appearing like Russian nesting dolls. It’s an industry where you go from playing a lead love interest to a turtleneck-and-knit-vest-sporting grandmother who, despite missing her husband, still has a lot of love to give to pets, in half the time a leading man turns into a grandpa”.
This is so spot on, and at the same time hilarious. She’s so honest about her experiences and who she is, and is also unforgiving. She is not perfect, and of course no one is, she admits lots of really embarrassing stuff here, and apologizes for none of it.
What Will She Read Next? 